Title: Ricochet: Locked and Loaded (Ricochet, #1)
Author: Heather C. Leigh
Releasing March 29, 2015
Sanctum MMA appears on the surface to be a normal gym, training elite fighters to be the best. Except each trainer, hand-picked by Mack, possesses a special background that allows Mack to run one of the best-kept secrets in the country.
When twenty-four year old Quinn Wallace finally escapes her abusive husband, she turns to her father’s old Marine Corps buddy, Mack, for help. Broken and skittish, Quinn finds herself surrounded by large, intimidating men— men who could easily overpower her. She avoids them the best she can, but when Rick turns out to be more than just a rough fighter with bruised knuckles, she finds herself wondering if she can allow herself to trust again.
Ricochet is a full-length novel to be released as three parts.
***This book contains hot sweaty men, sexy scenes for those over 18, and uncomfortable, sometimes violent scenes.***
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Feeling ridiculous, Quinn ducked her head, turned, and practically ran down the hall to the break room. She shut the door behind her and sagged into it, leaning her forehead against the hard surface. “Shit,” she whispered to herself.
“You do that a lot.”
“Oh my God!” Quinn spun around to see the man with the striking aquamarine eyes, staring at her from his seat at the break room table. She choked, which made her cough, making it difficult to catch her breath.
Rick, his name is Rick.
The dark haired Adonis reclined in his chair, hands clasped behind his head as he smirked at Quinn. “You okay there?” She nodded, still unable to speak. “You scare too easily, doll.”
“What?” Quinn rasped as she dug her fingernails into her palms to stop her hands from trembling. She was still recovering from surprise he gave her, otherwise she would have scolded him for the doll comment... maybe. If she weren’t so frightened of the man.
“Every time I see you, you’re cursing under your breath.” Rick lifted an enormous bottle of water to his mouth and chugged down a third of it, never taking his sharp gaze off of Quinn’s. She noticed the large hand he had wrapped around the drink, knuckles scarred and bruised from fighting. That’s what all of these men did for a living, they fought or trained other men to fight. Those hands could hit… hard.
Danger! Her mind told her again. Quinn’s heart was racing frantically, feeling as if it may explode in her chest.
She shivered in response, but not from the fear she should be feeling from being so close to such a dangerous man. No, Quinn shivered because he was so damn hot she couldn’t stop imagining those large, rough hands running all over her skin. The way his lips surrounded the bottle and his throat working to swallow… she felt it in a way that made her uncomfortable. The fear mingling with desire had her flat-out confused.
Quinn unintentionally let her eyes roam over his broad chest, which was covered by only a thin, tight T-shirt that had the sleeves cut off and was damp with sweat. His sinewy arms were on full display, each muscle cut perfectly. The only mark on his beautiful tan skin was a black tattoo of a skull inside a circle with wings coming off of it and a knife or weapon behind. For a minute, she thought she recognized the tattoo, but she wasn’t close enough to know for sure.
I would love to lick that tattoo. Oh my god, where did that come from?
Feeling her neck and cheeks flame up from her deviant thoughts, Quinn quickly gathered herself, remembering that this cocky man was poking fun at her. Dangerous or not, that made her mad. She narrowed her eyes at his annoyingly gorgeous face.
“Well, you like to sneak up on people. It’s not nice. And, I’m not your doll.” She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to look confident when all she really wanted to do was run out of here and hide, or maybe run across the room and straddle his lap. She was equally torn between the two. So what did she do? Nothing. Her feet were rooted to the spot.
“Sneak up on people? You came in here, remember?” Rick pushed his chair back and got to his feet in one surprisingly nimble move for such a big man. Quinn swallowed when she got a good look at how tall he was, having to tilt her head back to see his face. The last time they spoke, she had been sitting while he leaned over her desk, his muscular body hidden behind the half wall that separated her from the lobby. Now that they were both standing, she could see that he was much, much taller than her petite five foot four inch frame. Her subconscious kept screaming at her.
Danger!
Quinn instinctively backed up, not stopping until she felt the kitchenette’s countertop dig into her lower back. Rick continued forward, only halting when there were just inches separating his large body from hers. He put his hands on the cabinets behind her, one on either side of her head caging her in. A small whimper fell from her lips and her breath stuttered. Quinn balled up her hands, running a fingertip over the ridge on her right palm. She shuddered from the thought of that scar, but when she remembered how she got it, she felt somewhat stronger. It was her badge of courage.
“And,” he said, close enough that she could smell him, a faint mixture of aftershave and sweat. It was potent enough to make her bite her lip so she wouldn’t try to lick his neck or bury her face in his chest and inhale that masculine scent. “Lots of people think I’m nice… doll.” Then he smirked.
Quinn’s mouth fell open at his arrogance.
Jerk!
Attraction or not, frightened or not, his slick overconfidence grated on her nerves. Braver than she’d felt for the first time in a long time, Quinn smiled at the egotistical man with the hypnotizing eyes. She refused to be another one of Rick’s groupies, and she was quite sure he had plenty of them falling for his easy charm and rugged perfection. “Yeah, well, those people that think you’re nice? I’m not one of them.” Trembling, she ducked under Rick’s arm, unable to keep herself from noticing how hard his abs were as she nudged by. Pretending to be fearless, Quinn snatched her purse out of her locker, and left without saying another word.
Ricochet Part 1 Locked and Loaded was a great start to this series. I would give this book a 4 stars and would recommend to others. This book is short story with a cliffy, but it is full of angst, steam, and devastation.
Rick has been through a lot in his life and when he is discharged from the service because of an injury he will join forces with a team of rogue retired special force agents to the dirty work the government doesn't want to do them selves. They are concealed under the pretense of being an MMA gym that trains fighters. Rick has nickname of Ricochet and he is known for bed hopping with woman, he doesn't believe in love and by jumping beds he doesn't have to deal with the drama of a relationship. When he comes in to work one day he see's there is a new receptionist that he can see is damaged but gorgeous.. and he finds himself drawn to her in a way that he has never been before.. and he wants her not just for one night but possibly forever.
Quinn has a sordid past that she is running from and she seeks shelter with the only sudo family she has left because she has no other family and has to hide from her deranged husband. When her dad's best friend Mac offers her a job at his gym she finds herself very frightened of all the males that are at the gym at first but then finally after a couple weeks finds herself settling in. When she meets Rick for the first time she is instantly entranced by his good looks but also by his behavior towards her because what she knows of men in general non have ever been nice to her.. so when he starts to show her kindness and compassion she finds herself pushing him away.. but one night of unbridled passion sends her into a tailspin and finally making her make a decision she should have made a long time ago....
What will happen when Quinn disappears when Rick thought all was going well?? Will she return or will she run from him as well?
Go get this book now and let me tell you I have read the other 2 books in this series already and they are all awesome.. so get to once clicking Divas you won't be disappointed.
Ricochet Locked & Loaded is book 1 in Heather C. Leigh's Ricochet Series. A book about two people broken down by the circumstances from their pasts that they are desperately trying to let go of, come together in a way that neither of them were looking for or even wanted during this stage of their lives. This book was a 3.5 star read for me and I recommend to anyone who loves a good military alpha male and a strong female looking to overcome a past she isn't proud to be a part of with a strength she never knew she possessed.
Rick Brennan is a former Marine special ops Force Recon soldier with an honorable discharge from the only life he ever knew. Working for his former CO, at Sanctum MMA, he still lives his life on the edge, doing under cover ops for the government without being military. Earning his nickname of Ricochet because he is never with the same woman twice and never stays past his own orgasm, Rick is content in the life he is living, because of the nightmares that never seem to fade, hold him back from happiness.
Quinn Wallace has finally walked away from her abusive husband looking to start over when she turns to her deceased father's old military buddy Mack for help. Skidish around the opposite sex for completely obvious and understandable reasons, Quinn focuses on rebuilding her life while flying under the radar, hoping that her husband never finds her. A female afraid of men working in an MMA gym should be the last place that Quinn would start over but it is the place where she surprising feels safest.
The pull that Rick feels toward Quinn is something that he doesn't understand and nor does he want to when he finds himself curious about the girl who seems to be hiding so much behind a perceived tough exterior that she desperately tries to portray to he outside world. When he finds himself yearning to figure her and and even help her do mundane things like food shop, the joy he feels when he is around her is foreign and makes him question what is going on.
Will Rick be able to break through the walls that Quinn has erected in order to protect herself from falling for a guy once again who isn't what he seems to be? Will Quinn open up to Rick about the horrible events of her past that haunt her,or will she push him away before she has a chance to find out what love should truly feel like? You will have to read to find out!
Ricochet: Locked & Loaded (Ricochet, #1)
Releasing April 5, 2015
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Releasing April 12, 2015
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RICK SMILED AS he stood on the small landing just outside of the tiny apartment above Sanctum. He could hear loud music playing inside, some top forty crap. What was Quinn doing— dancing, singing, cleaning while dancing and singing? The locks disengaged and the door swung wide open. Rick nearly choked on his tongue at the sight in front of him. Quinn was standing on the threshold with a light sheen of sweat on her body, her hair pulled into a high ponytail, and wearing only a tiny blue sports bra and a pair of shorts so small they couldn’t possibly be legal to wear out in public.
Holy hell, I’m going to croak right here on her doorstep.
“Rick. What are you doing here?” Quinn’s amber eyes shone, but her face looked confused.
“Ummmm,” Jesus. He couldn’t think with her half naked and within arms length, it was too damn distracting. Her pale thighs were smooth and toned. All he could imagine was having them wrapped around his waist. “I uh, I mean… shit. I was going to bring you to the store again. If… if you wanted, I mean.”
Damn, I sound like a complete and total idiot.
Quinn’s already flushed cheeks turned an even darker shade of crimson as he stammered in her doorway. Her eyes cast downward until she was staring at her own feet. Rick marveled over how long and thick her eyelashes were against her pale skin. Her lush pink mouth captivated him as she licked her lips nervously. This was a bad idea. His dick had a mind of it’s own whenever he was around Quinn and it was beginning to throb inside his jeans. He hadn’t gotten off since the pathetically unsatisfying experience on Sunday night and jerking in the shower at work and his cock was taking notice.
“You came here just to see if I needed another ride?” Once again, when Quinn’s shy but pleased gaze lifted to Rick’s face, it hit him like a punch to the gut. He’d seen his share of beautiful women, hell, he’d had his share of beautiful women. But nothing he’d seen in his twenty-eight years would ever compare to the absolute perfection of Quinn Wallace. Mesmerized, Rick could only nod. The small smile she rewarded him with made his discomfort totally worth it. Like another hit of an addict’s favorite drug, Rick would probably give anything to see her smile more often. Quinn always looked sad, weary. Giving her a little bit of happiness, if only for something as simple as grocery shopping, seemed like a fair trade for a constant, aching hard-on, the inability to enjoy his usual no strings sex, and never ending mental torture.
“Yeah, I came to see if you needed another ride. Is that alright with you, doll?” Quinn’s gorgeous face relaxed, her smile becoming wider. There were those adorable crinkles around her eyes again. “Yes, it’s fine. Let me just throw on a shirt. Uh, come in and just… wait here.”
He was pleased that she finally stopped telling him not to call her doll. She was a doll, his doll. Rick watched her tight ass as she scurried off to what he assumed was her bedroom. He groaned at the thought of her and her ass anywhere near a bed. As surreptitiously as possible, he adjusted his painful hard on.
Get your shit together, Brennan.
Minutes later, Quinn emerged with a small pink shirt pulled over her sports bra. She was still wearing the tiny, cheek hugging shorts. As he followed her out of the apartment, her delectable back end swaying with each step, Rick wondered if he had lost his fucking mind.
Tucker sat up straight and crossed his arms, giving Rick his full attention, something the socially challenged man almost never did. “What’s it to you, Ricochet?”
Rick scowled at Tucker’s use of his nickname, knowing that the man was baiting him. Tucker might look small and geeky and love computers, but he was a fifth degree black belt in Shotokan karate. He had held his own in a spur of the moment karate match with UFC welterweight champion George St. Pierre. “Nothing. Forget it.” Rick huffed, storming past the front desk and the smirking Tucker. He swiped his badge, irritated at himself for letting Tucker get under his skin. Hell, he was irritated at himself for letting Quinn get under his skin. Rick was even too pissed to call the small guy “big man” like he usually did.
Twenty-eight fucking years without a single person to worry about except myself. Less than a month after Quinn walks through the front door and I barely recognize the guy in the mirror or the thoughts in my own head anymore.
Rick marched into the training area in a cloud of anger.
Fucking Tucker, messing my head all up.
When he reached the edge of the mat covered floor, his world stopped spinning and came to a screeching halt. He blinked, certain that his mind was playing tricks on him. Nope. It wasn’t. Across the gym, standing in front of the heavy bag wearing a tank top and those damn miniature shorts, was Quinn. She was barefoot, punching and kicking the bag with a jab-front kick combo.
Quinn all sweaty, wearing next to nothing, was a sight to see. But what made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, what Rick immediately zeroed in on, was Xavier’s fucking hands on Quinn’s hips, touching what belonged to Rick. Belong to me? Quinn doesn’t belong to me.
Rick shook the thoughts from his head, squeezing his eyes shut until the angry red haze cleared. When he opened them back up, he saw Xavier and Quinn staring at him, their lesson interrupted by his odd behavior.
“Hey man.” Xavier held up a wrapped hand in greeting. “Good to have you back.”
Rick’s furious scowl surprised his friend, causing Xavier’s dark eyes to narrow suspiciously. Rick flicked his gaze over to Quinn. She stood next to Xav, unmoving, her face blank as she waited for her lesson to continue. It made Rick feel as if he were a mere annoyance.
Already pissed and now embarrassed on top of it, Rick spun on his heel and stomped down the hall. He swiped his badge and punched in his code, opening the door to an empty Mission Control. Rick paced the room, raking his hands through his hair in frustration. He wanted to tear the room apart, but knew he’d face everyone’s wrath if he destroyed the expensive equipment.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
These unfamiliar feelings were messing with his head. Rick couldn’t define them, couldn’t explain them, and had absolutely no idea how to deal with them. The only way he knew how to release frustration was fucking or fighting. Right now, he was way to volatile to fuck.
Fighting it is then.
I grew up in New England and currently live outside Atlanta, GA with my husband, two kids, a French Bulldog and a pug. I'm a full-time procrastinator and a part-time everything else. I love the Red Sox, chocolate, and traveling. When I'm not writing, I'm dealing drugs legally as a pharmacist.
